From the Vault: Hadlee swings through Aussies in Sydney

In Sydney 1981, the legendary Sir Richard Hadlee took 5-26 against Australia - which included some quality catches from a very young Ian Smith behind the stumps!

[@markp1549]

I recall when asked about sledging he said “I didn’t need to”. Class.

[@niranjandas4426]

Sir Richard Hadlee....what a bowling action

[@aaronbarlow4376]

So smooth, graceful and fast. Not to mention accurate.

[@freespeech515]

Simple action . It worked because he is also tall. No need to put too much effort.

[@MrT67]

​@@freespeech515He was probably average height for a fast bowler. 6' 1"

[@apexit1]

Great action and rhythm. Kept us kiwis in a lot of games.

[@MrT67]

@@apexit1 We had only won one test match back in 1956 before Hadlee's debut in 1973.

[@sandeepkumarsharma6879]

A complete fast bowler who could bowl any type of delivery with such a smooth action. A treat to watch and a true legend.

[@paulhank7967]

I had the pleasure seeing Richard Hadlee for Nottinghamshire in the 80s. Incredible all rounder. He's a legend at Trent Bridge.

[@iwbarke]

Went to many Sunday League games at Trent Bridge in the late 70s and 80s. You sat up and watched when the bowling opened up with Sir Richard Hadlee and Clive Rice. And with those two and Derek Randall in the side the batting was entertaining too. I remember Hadlee playing the last home Sunday game of the season against Lancashire in what was expected to be his last game for Notts (but he did come back), and getting 6-12 in his 8 overs. One of the best games I ever saw!

[@MrT67]

​​@@iwbarkeNice to hear these comments from Nottingham gents. I grew up in Christchurch NZ, Hadlee's home town. In fact I lived in the same road as him for many years. He had a reputation as being incredibly focused to the point of being quite aloof and received alot of criticism for perhaps not being a team man. But before he arrived on the test team, NZ had only ever win one test match in its history. That was 1956 against the West Indies. Hadlee started his career in 1973 to give you an idea of how long it was between drinks.... Regarding his personality, any encounter I or people that I knew had with him was positive, with him always being a gentleman. If he played at home for his senior club side he'd always give 100%, even though that level of cricket was well below his capabilities. He stated that he was taking someone else's place and therefore owed it to that person and the team to do his best A girl I knew lived opposite him with her aunt. When her aunt first moved into the neighbourhood, the first person to knock on her door with a six pack of beer and a welcome to the neighbourhood was...... Richard Hadlee. And that was at the height of his fame. I of course also saw him play many times. Great memories.

[@spptube]

The best fast bowler from New Zealand with an iconic bowling action.

[@davewalkeden6932]

Mate, Hadlee is as good as any bowler that's ever played the game, not just the best NZ bowler ever.....

[@brettwilkinson9529]

Australia had the best atmosphere to watch cricket. First of all , its their national sport, great weather, best grounds , the best commentary team, best film coverage best vocal passionate crowds .Simply marvelous.

[@humphreytull7043]

Was always jealous as a kid back in NZ of the great Ozzy grounds and atmosphere...still am

[@rv_316]

Richie benaud, made channel 9 very special with his velvet voice...........!!!??.

[@angelslife2256]

​@@rv_316true ❤

[@exoticindiaa]

India was shitty af till 2010, they improved only after 2011 World Cup

[@6one995]

this channel has no limits.unbelievable efforts.

[@rexablett943]

I’m an Aussie, so you might think this would be hard to watch, but Hadlee was the real deal. Love watching quality cricket anywhere and everywhere that I can. Genuine NZ legend. They’ve produced some great cricketers across the ditch, but after Hadlee, it took them until Shane Bond to usher through a quick w/ that kind of talent!

[@AdityaT03]

Yeah I know. Hadlee was an amazing quick. Its surprising people dont ever think of him when making their all time 11's. He is a part of the 400 plus test wkt club and 150 ODI wkt club.

[@imacgra1]

@@AdityaT03 and two test hundreds. A class act.

[@humphreytull7043]

First to 400 test wickets

[@justinlanger7109]

Yes but in true NZ fashion Bond was not discovered and given opportunity until he was 24. If Bond was an Aussie he would have been exposed much earlier and looked after better financially.

[@amitjain11000]

1981 australian umpiring denied NZ the title of World Series victors.

[@Anand-ex7oc]

Hadlee was magnificent but that is not a surprising thing for me, the surprising thing is camera quality and camera positioning.... It is unbelievable...... This match seems to be of mid 90s only because of its camera quality.

[@ShivamMSharma]

siddhant bhakre But that's 80's

[@Daveglorious]

Yeh, this was something I always looked forward to as a child, watching one day cricket from Australia. When Packer brought in WSC he also upgraded all the tv and sound effects to be world class. This was huge, and not talked about enough. The mix on the crease sound a better to THIS DAY than what they have now. Today it sounds like a rumble/thud, then it had more “top” a stratch to it, and it was exciting to hear that sound just before a wicket fell.

[@avy948]

1

[@seenoevil85]

Channel 9 Australia's coverage can't be compared to contemporary subcontinent standards. They were always way ahead, even from BBC sports coverage in England at that time.

[@andrewanglin9427]

White people are amazing at what they do

[@humungous09]

Hadlee was Australia's nemesis during 80's. He regularly used to get 7 to 8 wickets in every test innings almost..

[@rodneyfungus8249]

Slight exaggeration

[@humungous09]

@@rodneyfungus8249 Well, he had taken 130 test wkts against OZ at a stupendous avg of 20. It includes 14 5W+ and 5 10W+ hauls. I'm NO kiwi myself but I literally saw him make Aussies struggle against his lethal variations, accuracy, and craft. He had also been the world's highest wkt taker at 431 before being overtaken by Kapil Dev of India. No exaggeration, I guess..

[@wt4488]

even in 1980s the kiwis were amazing fielders

[@meitanteiconan5971]

They were always good on the field and even are now. They are as agile as kiwis

[@meitanteiconan5971]

As agile as real kiwis

[@amadeuswolf]

@@meitanteiconan5971 hahaha

[@DrGreenThumbNZL]

Yer our fielding always been solid

[@PrasadVignesh1982]

Great bowling by Sir Richard Hadlee. The first catch by Mark burgees was brilliant.

[@adsdynamic9219]

Richard Hadlee was perhaps one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He had it all in him to be called greatest & menacing. Was an out & out match winner 🥇 for the Kiwis 🥝. Hadlee a cricketer for all seasons will be missed & the game will never witness another like him. Hats off to the legend. ♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️

[@humphreytull7043]

Yes, and unlike the current NZ test team, had to shoulder most of the burden with no other world class bowlers in the side.

[@adsdynamic9219]

@@humphreytull7043 True, he had to carry the load all alone & did it incredibly well. Hadlee a class act ♥️

[@lovedalestudios]

An era without mobile and Corona!!!

[@7s29]

Better days.

[@but1z]

J J what corona

[@elgransenor1472]

Hadlee, Akram, Lillee The best three of all time.

[@rexablett943]

El Gran Senor - I would love to try some of the crack you’re smoking. It clearly warps your reality. If we’re talking quicks, McGrath outclasses all 3. Akram was a better bowler than his figures suggested because Pakistan fielding has *always* been problematic, but even if he played with a competent side he doesn’t catch McGrath. The other names ahead of Hadlee and Lillee include, Anderson, W Younis, Pollock, Vaas, Walsh, Broad & Lee. Not to mention Steyn, Ambrose and Johnson who are at least on Hadlee’s level...

[@prabhat2763]

@@rexablett943 Let's be fair now....there have been too many legendary bowlers to compare....you just cannot pick a top 3....

[@AAAAAA-gj2di]

@@rexablett943 and I would love to try some of the weed that you smoke. Yiu're comparing these newbies with Hadlee and Lillee lol

[@kathleendadic8522]

El Gran Senor and Warne

[@gmediagroupss]

@@rexablett943 You fool. Just see the stats. Lillee, Steyn and Hadlee were taking 5 wickets per match. They were the fastest 300 wicket takers. Steyn overpowers Mc Grath on any day. MC grath took 4 more tests than Lillee and 5 more than Hadlee to take 350 wickets. Dont say that pitches got flattened and all. Steyn who came to cricket after Mc Grath took more wickets on average than Mc Grath. In fastest 400 wicket takers list Richard Hadlee and Steyn topped the list in 80 matches. Mc Grath took 7 more matches to reach 400 wickets. In Wisden 2002 Wisden released a list of all time greatest bowlers based on some statistics. It put.Richard Hadlee second after Muralidharan. Mc Grath was not in top 5. Stats speak something different man. Lillee and Hadlee are best on any day.

[@meghanvasant]

The uniforms have changed over the decades and so have the bats and the grounds but not Bill Lawry’s voice and passion.

[@phillipmurray1724]

Always good seeing a fit young Smithy! :)

[@googleaccount2901]

One of the greatest bowler ever.

[@mustafayasiranwar635]

The cap at 0:11

[@newmilind9628]

In 1981 such wonderful high quality video telecast... Other countries at that time were miles behind Australia in this department.. In India at that time and upto 1987, it was difficult to see the cricket ball on Television..

[@sethukannan1984]

I saw ,1983 world Cup semi and final 1985 champion from doordarshan

[@sethukannan1984]

After 1986 dd will telecost South t nadu kodikanal

[@p.jaisha8818]

This video was from 1991

[@zenmilind]

@@p.jaisha8818 Read in the description of this video, you will see that this video is of 1981 Match.

[@kandivamshi930]

​@@sethukannan1984DD 😅. Most worse telecaster in the world.. there is only two cameras one behind the WK 😅

[@adamhenley8295]

The catch of the season - shows how far cricket has come in a few decades

[@keithmoon8838]

Difficult catch to pull off, then and now. Might not look spectacular, but very easy to lose your bearings.

[@anyoldactress4078]

Came here to say the same. That’s routine nowadays.

[@andrewlarkin3074]

Also, the great juggling of the cap at the same time 😊

[@colinmackenzie6277]

Like a well-oiled piston, driving that ball high in the air with seam and shine ready to go...mechanical, fluid, rhythmic...deadly. A great professional athlete. K1W1 4 LIFE!!!!

[@7s29]

Richard had the most efficient bowling action.

[@JamesStaaks8182]

Great era of cricket. Hadlee was a champion no doubt.

[@_roxine_saviou7708]

Legend of cricket...sir Richard hardlee..love from india

[@stevecassell]

😂

[@shaneetsaha1176]

No one will be any other Richard Hadlee there is only ONE Sir Richard Hadlee

[@ayushmanbhalla8737]

Legend for a reason 🙏🏻🌪🙏🏻🌪

[@pallavsahu7637]

The best corridor bowler of all time as Boycs calls him.

[@rexablett943]

Pallav Sahu - Glenn McGrath, “Is my corridor a joke to you?”

[@sirlordhenrymortimer6620]

@@rexablett943 nah mate, hadlee was elite level

[@montyf2165]

Wonderful bowler in the great coffee coloured kit!!

[@7884golfguru]

I was there on the hill,what a day ❤️❤️❤️

[@oliversmith5279]

One of the best bowler of that time

[@rohitchaddha9]

Richard Hadlee has the best bowling figures when one considers Wickets and Number of Matches.

[@rafishaikh3598]

RICHARD HADLEE was always GENTLE MANNERED & professional in WORLD CLASS CRICKET. SIR R.H. RAFI MAINE USA

[@balajibalajii8093]

Up to date Nz lone test series win in Australia because of this man.

[@maxbowie6074]

Has there ever been a technically better bowler than Hadlee? His action was ridiculously good

[@batmandestroys1978]

McGrath easilly!

[@emamularfeen4940]

Sir hadlee was one of those bowlers who troubled the aussie batsmen a lot during his time. Has an excellent record against them

[@rexablett943]

Emamul Arfeen - Absolutely! As an Aussie, I’m man enough to say he had our number. Even more impressive were Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori, who seemed to have our number even during the golden era when we had the greatest team the world had ever known.

[@eddsnake]

Rex Ablett Not better than the ‘80s West Indies.

[@chemistryset1]

Ian Smith very sharp behind the stumps there - I only saw him at the end of his career; looks young and relatively athletic in this video

[@Ajay-xb8ti]

0:14 if this was today the player would have dived and messed it up. great catch 🔥

[@richardmcgrath9729]

Mark Burgess was also a NZ football rep played for the All Whites against Matt Busby's great Man United team in 1968

[@freespeech515]

Can u provide HIGH 4k quality if 1985 benson hedges series in full?) every game. In india people used to get 5:00am to watch. took day off when cricket match happened. Commentary and video quality and Quality of channel 9 is yet to be surpassed. that was like 38 years ago

[@painlesss13]

I remember some games Hadlee used to only bowl 3 overs in a Spell then come back at 346: over and bowl out his compliment. Fantastic bowler.

[@006664]

We often forget the contribution of fielders in a bowler's successful career.

[@sadatabu9971]

One of the best All rounder

[@winstondlima2396]

Fantastic bowler, the great Sir Richard Hadlee.

[@shaikmohammad2778]

New zealand two best legend's fast bowler Hadlee ' and Bond 👈

[@prasoondubey1470]

best kiwi bowler ever

[@rexablett943]

prasoon dubey - Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori and Trent Boult would like a word with you ;)

[@eddsnake]

Rex Ablett Stop trolling mate, Shane Bond might have got close to Hadlee if he hadn’t been injured for most of his career.

[@TheChilator]

@@rexablett943 but hadlee was still the best even though they were world class. He had to carry the rest of the team bowlers who were fighters for years. But he was world class. A goat

[@TheChilator]

@@eddsnake yes a shame Shane got injured so much. Shane could hit the ball hard too batting but as an all rounder hadlee was far better I think:. But to be fair like you say Shane was injured too much

[@IqbalKhan-eg9fc]

Great spell of fast bowling by kiwi legend hadlee

[@potdarkapil5365]

First catch was awesome, & nz jersey was absolutely superb

[@mohanmakli5791]

One of the stalwart of the fast bowling who reached 400 and more wickets for the first time.. A legend 🤔 I remember he has a brother by name Dale Hadlee who has also played test cricket !

[@mohammedsufiyankhan8631]

That hat while catching...

[@davidchingching167]

The best spell of bowling I ever saw.

[@CHRISDABAHIA]

0:12 Juggling his cap four times as well as taking the catch! 🧢

[@wasesmkhan6795]

Sir Richard Hadley ,🔥🔥🔥

[@fireaspect4756]

Wow you’d have to be insanely brave to face a lethal pacer without a helmet

[@nickhanlon9331]

Hadlee wasn't out to hurt you.He just wanted you out.

[@serendipity5874]

Or insanely stupid

[@humphreytull7043]

You could tell Hadlee wasn't impressed when the batsmen thought they didn't need a helmet against him.

[@TheChilator]

@@humphreytull7043 🤣🤣🤣

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Hadlee is GOAT.

[@Pablo668]

I'm an Aussie, and I miss these matches between Aus and NZ. Very competitive and sometimes controversial. How good was Hadlee. That's rhetorical btw, we all know just how good he was. I seem to recall he once scored 36 from an over with the bat. I could be mis-remembering though.

[@sadatabu9971]

Simple and superb bowling action

[@adityabasu7357]

Best bowling action

[@sauron2000000]

Sanghi fanboi

[@danielwebb4047]

Underated lower order bat too great cricketer

[@rogermoore3147]

Awesome cricket .. love from india

[@Radmerst]

Golden moments of newzeland. During 80's

[@SanjibDas-ct2wr]

A cricketer with least noise. Any bowler of this era should follow his bowling the max possible.

[@rajeshiyer1692]

Umpire looks divine

[@DP-qp8wr]

Great bowler. So accurate

[@vivekrao6215]

Legend legend legend 👍🙏

[@justspreadhappiness]

New Zealand World's Coolest Team And My Favourite 😍 😎

[@flyingdutch9818]

How good is that coffee uniform?! Hadlee and Lillee were technical gods then

[@adsdynamic9219]

I would rate Hadlee ahead of Lillie. Had excelled even in unhelpful wickets & conditions of subcontinent whereas Lillie excelled only in Australia, England & New Zealand.

[@trickyjw]

Legend 🇳🇿

[@muhammadasad9353]

a real legend

[@arifkhan-zl5tg]

Fantastic

[@rajagopalparthasarathi7589]

Headlee is madly dangerous. Too good he is.

[@NathanSmithhula]

The look on umpires face giving that LBW, you can tell he didn't want to...

[@narayananmahalingam]

Sir RH. All time great...

[@Shankarwrites]

The level of comenty is top class from Bill Lawry, Ritche Benaud and Tony Grieg. They build cricket viewers all over the world with neutral comments. Wonderful days...

[@johndejong8822]

I started following cricket as a 12 year old in 1982. Throughout the 80s NZ was on par with every cricketing nation, and I thought that was just normal. Then Hadlee retired 🤣

[@chalkandcheese1868]

The 3rd final in this series probably the most infamous match in cricket history.

[@amitjain11000]

incredible bowler, could bowl outside the off stump with his eyes closed. 1981 world series saw the worst cheating by Australians, NZ were denied victory due to atrocious umpiring.

[@mattedwards1880]

Did the "under arm" come in the following game? And did New Zealand lose the next 2 games to lose this Worls Series final 2-1? Hadlee's action here is immaculate.

[@adamcooper9707]

Beware the more squeamish among you. This video shows rare footage of an Aussie walking after edging the ball

[@careenterprises2385]

😀😂

[@TheChilator]

🤣🤣🤣

[@cjkupa]

Loved how when the batter was given LBW they walked straight away, have faith in the umpires otherwise don't have them

[@markp1549]

Hadlee was a legend - up there with Lillee no doubt.

[@ajaypatil4083]

Great bowler.

[@rmukundan4089]

Just look at the great team uniforms all the one day series in Australia thru 80s and early 90s had this. The pinnacle was the 92 world cup

[@meerkatwater648]

whatta legend

[@adilali5517]

0:03 what's with the cap ???

[@ranaazizurrehmankhan6867]

Unsung hero

[@praveenkkg5656]

Hadlee has the best strike rate in history of fast bowling

[@abhraghosal2000]

Deadly Hadlee

[@shadabmallick4156]

Nostalgic

[@chandsharma8243]

Please name these two commentators. Absolute genuine voice for any occasion.

[@colinmackenzie6277]

Tony Grieg with South African accent, Richie Benaud (Australia), and I Think (I am probably wrong), Doug Walters

[@stevecassell]

😂

[@mathsforcompetitiveandscho3189]

My best 3 fast bowlers: 1. Hadlee 2. Marshall 3. Andy Roberts.

[@dannybrooks7407]

Caught Tim Brooke-Taylor, bowled Hadlee

[@specialistsprofessionalsin1331]

Rolls Royce of Bowling Batting Viv Richards

[@TheChilator]

💯

[@mayankbisht1699]

Good . Great

[@johndejong8822]

Look how lean Ian Smith is

[@TheChilator]

🤣🤣🤣

[@pratyakshyaghimire3117]

So no one noticed how the fielder juggled his cap with his leg at 0:13

[@stevecassell]

How do you know nobody noticed? Did you ask everyone if they noticed? You are so SPECIAL!

[@pratyakshyaghimire3117]

Lol Get a life bro😂

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Burgess looks like Tim Brooke Taylor 0:41

[@anoopgupta6490]

Nice bowling

[@rojay9546]

I feel sorry for those noobs who didnt get to see the greats of that era play, except for these youtube flashbacks of course. Hadlee was terrific, i remember him more later in his career, when he bowled medium pace. Earlier on he was much faster. Here was about 1981 and he was still bowling quite quick. Great days of cricket in Australia during the 80s.

[@rexablett943]

Ro Jay - The 1980s was one of Australia’s weakest cricket outfits in history...Do you just mean the game in general?

[@rojay9546]

Yeah in general Australian cricket was trash in the 80s, with some amazing exceptions like WC87 and 89 Ashes. But the cricket in general was exceptional, and the games with Australia against whoever were always competitive, entertaining and often memorable. Our amazing commentators had a lot to do with it also.

[@johndejong8822]

According to Greg Chapel and Geoff Boycott Hadlee was never medium pace. According to Boycott Hadlee was always quicker than James Anderson.

[@wickedsika1]

Very clean and repeatable action.

[@Warpedsmac]

When Mr Hadlee had it all right he was unplayable. I think he got 8 wickets in an afternoon against Aus. in a test match.